Privacy in Authoritarian Times: Surveillance Capitalism and Government Surveillance

As the United States and much of the world face a resurgence of authoritarianism, the critical importance of privacy cannot be overstated. Privacy serves as a fundamental safeguard against the overreach of authoritarian governments. Authoritarian power is greatly enhanced in today’s era of pervasive surveillance and relentless data collection. We are living in the age of “surveillance capitalism.” There are vast digital dossiers about every person assembled by thousands of corporations and readily available for the government to access.

     The federal government and some state governments are intensifying surveillance and data collection efforts, targeting immigrants, punishing those involved in seeking or providing abortion services, and cracking down on gender-affirming healthcare. Personal data is being weaponized against critics and others who resist these efforts.

     In this Article, I contend that privacy protections must be significantly heightened to respond to growing threats of authoritarianism. Major regulatory interventions are necessary to prevent government surveillance from being used in inimical ways. But reforming Fourth Amendment jurisprudence and government surveillance alone will not protect against many authoritarian invasions of privacy, especially given the oligarchical character of the current strain of authoritarianism. To adequately regulate government surveillance, it is essential to also regulate surveillance capitalism. Government surveillance and surveillance capitalism are two sides of the same coin. It is impossible to protect privacy from authoritarianism without addressing consumer privacy.

     This Article proposes regulatory measures that should be taken to address government surveillance and surveillance capitalism—on both sides of the coin—to guard against authoritarianism.